Back Surgery Alternative

The Regenexx PL-Disc ™ procedure is a non-surgical treatment option for patients suffering from bulging lumbar disc and herniated lumbar disc related problems. The procedure is intended to help patients avoid lower back surgery or high dose steroid epidural injections and their side effects.

Regenexx PL-Disc is an advanced platelet injection procedure that can offer relief from lower back pain, buttock and leg pain, or numbness and tingling in the legs or feet. It is minimally invasive with a very limited recovery period.

Benefits of Treating Bulging or Herniated Discs with Regenexx PL-Disc:

Most low back surgery patients endure lengthy and painful recovery periods. The Regenexx PL-Disc procedure is an out-patient “walk-in/walk-out” injection procedure where patients can immediately return to activity as tolerated.

Traditional low back surgery can cut through important muscles and has a high complication rate. Depending on the type of surgery, serious complications can be as high as 3-5 people in 100. Since the Regenexx PL-Disc procedure is performed through an injection, there is no damage to important back muscles. The possibility for complications are similar to other types of injections.

Platelets contain growth factors that can help new blood vessels grow. We believe poor blood supply is at the heart of why many patients with chronically pinched low back nerves fail to heal. While traditional low back surgery typically weakens the disc, the Regenexx PL-Disc procedure may aide in healing the disc.

Because of the ability of platelets to help healing, the amount of anti-inflammatory used in this procedure is about 1,000,000 times less than traditional lumbar epidural steroid injections. This special nanogram dose is similar to the normal physiologic dose of anti-inflammatories usually found in your body and in animal studies has shown to help stem cell function, rather than inhibit it like high dose steroids. Regenexx PL-Disc patients can avoid the many risks associated with high dose steroid epidural injections.

Unlike PRP, which causes stem cells in culture to grow less quickly, platelet lysate quickly accelerates stem cell growth. This is because all of the growth factors in the platelets become immediately available to the local stem cells.